Myanmar junta’s pre-election airstrikes kill dozens in Kachin State and Sagaing and Magway regions

Airstrikes by Myanmar’s military killed at least 28 people late last week, as the regime intensified its attacks in resistance-held areas days before concluding a month-long series of elections. The worst assault took place on Thursday (January 22) near the town of Bhamo in Kachin State, where 22 people were confirmed dead and 28 injured in a strike targeting civilians gathered for a funeral in a nearby village. Many of the victims were identified as internally displaced persons (IDPs) forced to flee fighting in the area, where junta forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) have engaged in fierce battles for control of Bhamo for more than a year. “They were people from IDP villages. The airstrikes struck as they were preparing for the seventh-day ceremony after a death, gathering to cook food. There was no fighting in the area, and no armed groups passing through,” KIA spokesperson Col. Naw Bu told Myanmar Now. The airstrikes hit the neighbouring villages of Htee Lin and Kawng Jar, situated about five miles west of Bhamo on the opposite bank of the Ayeyarwaddy River, at around 4:30 pm, he added. Among the injured were two disabled people, a seven-year-old girl, and an infant whose parents were both killed, according to a rescue worker who witnessed the carnage. “Some of the victims were decapitated by the explosion,” the rescue worker said. Bhamo was initially included among the Kachin State townships expected to take part in the third and final phase of the junta’s elections on Sunday, along with Mansi, Momauk, Shwegu, and Hpakant. However, on January 21, state media reported that polling would be cancelled in Bhamo Township and 11 villages, as well as in Mansi and Momauk townships, which are both under KIA control. According to Col. Naw Bu, Bhamo is largely deserted, with only KIA and junta forces present and engaged in ongoing fighting. “The junta might open voting stations in safer areas and tell locals to vote there, potentially claiming the votes came from Bhamo, but voting in the town itself is not possible,” he said. Damage from an airstrike that killed five in Tatkone, a village in Magway Region’s Aunglan Township, on January 22 (Photo: Supplied) Aerial assaults also devastated a village in Magway Region’s Aunglan Township on Thursday, killing at least five people, including an infant, according to local sources. Tatkone, located on the eastern bank of the Ayeyarwady River between the towns of Aunglan and Magway, was struck during a wedding ceremony at around 2pm, the sources said. “Five members of a single family were hit; three died, and two were seriously injured. The aircraft passed three times, dropping one bomb each time,” said an official of Aunglan Ludu, a group that monitors the conflict in the area. The bombs targeted a wedding pavilion but also reportedly destroyed at least two homes. As planes circled the area, most residents fled, leaving the houses to burn, the official added. Tatkone is located about 20 miles from the Directorate of Defence Industries armaments factory No. 15, which produces 81mm and 60mm mortar shells. It is reported that there were no ground battles or military columns near the village at the time. The regime also carried out a series of paramotor attacks in Sagaing Region’s Kani Township on Thursday, killing at least one woman and injuring two elderly villagers in Minkone, a village near a local stronghold of the pro-regime Pyu Saw Htee militia. At least 60 people have been killed and over 100 injured by junta airstrikes in Sagaing Region so far this year. According to data collected by Myanmar Now, 88 people were killed and at least 170 injured by airstrikes in Sagaing Region last December. Data released by the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Human Rights show that the regime conducted 262 airstrikes nationwide in December, resulting in 198 deaths, including 15 children under the age of 18, and 375 injuries. Nationwide, a total of 2,326 civilian deaths and 4,146 injuries were reported as a result of junta airstrikes in 2025, the NUG’s Ministry of Defence stated in figures released on January 21. Observers say the attacks are expected to intensify as the regime attempts to bring more territory back under its control in the wake of its now-completed elections, which have been widely dismissed as a sham aimed at legitimising military rule.

Myanmar junta’s pre-election airstrikes kill dozens in Kachin State and Sagaing and Magway regions

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